And the media fauns all over them with gushing compliance, manically - or maniacally, take your pick - nodding their agreement.
Frankly, I always thought grit was simply part of a balanced diet, and vital for proper, fulsome, regularity. But it seems, in the movie-makers lexicon, it is the coverall for offences against God, nature, manhood, womanhood and everything in between.
It's the battle Audience Alliance - and by extension you, our faithful members and friends - is fighting. To borrow from Marion Morrison, we could call it the search for True Grit. And just like eating a balanced diet over the sugar-filled, highly processed rubbish that most of us consume - because it's easy and convenient to buy, prepare, eat - we suddenly realize that it tastes good, and more than that, makes us feel better.
Take the majority of the cast and crew on the set of Audience Alliance's first Young Filmmaker feature, Broken Hill. Every single person I interviewed, or simply chatted with, acknowledged that the drama of Tommy's story was not left wanting in the grit department. In fact, cast members, like Alexa Vega, Rhys Wakefield, and Luke Arnold, all commented to me on the breath of fresh air that was the script. Words like rare, treasure, gold, fell from their lips.
The Web TV boys will show much the same in coming weeks as they unveil their video stories of life behind the lens on Broken Hill.
Christmas Jars, and other upcoming Audience Alliance films promise more of the same. Imagine a fact-based spy picture (A Train to Potevka), or the gripping human drama of Peter's Candle with True Grit?
In terms of today's current crop of the released and recently released, True Grit pickings are slim. We've highlighted a number of them in our What You Missed section. We'll add to that, and so can you. The reality though is, that like the truth, engaging adult dramas, with True Grit, are out there.
It's just a matter of knowing where to look.
By Brett Stringer
